Berlin police have arrested 75 people after clashing with demonstrators camped outside the Chancellery
Dozens of people were arrested in Berlin on Friday as German police moved to clear a pro-Palestinian protest camp set outside the Chancellery building two weeks ago.
The activists residing in the camp, which consisted of 20 tents, have been demanding an end to German weapons shipments to Israel as the Jewish State continues its siege of Gaza. The protesters have also decried the criminalization of the Palestinian solidarity movement.
German authorities have accused the demonstrators of criminal offenses such as incitement to hatred and using unconstitutional symbols and forbidden slogans. The protestors are also alleged to have breached restrictions such as those protecting green areas.
“Protection of gatherings cannot be guaranteed at this point because public safety and order are significantly at risk,” police spokesperson Anja Dierschke was quoted as saying by the DW news outlet.
On Friday, police moved to clear out the camp and could be seen clashing with dozens of activists. Footage showed officers detaining people, some of whom resisted and chanted “Viva, viva Palestina.”
According to police, some 150 officers were deployed to the Chancellery to tear down the tents. Seventy-five arrests were made of protesters and other supporters who allegedly violated the Freedom of Assembly Acts.
The demonstrators, meanwhile, have insisted that the German authorities had no right to clear out the camp.
“We’ve been peaceful but we’ve been harassed by the police every single day who have given us the most stupid restriction,” said one activist named Nassar.
“They’ve forbidden us from using languages which aren’t German or English, they have criminalized our prayers, our songs, our workshops, and now their official reasoning is that we had a sofa which was damaging the grass … In Germany, damaging the lawn is worse than committing genocide,” Nassar told DW.
“Welcome to Germany, where killing 35,000 people is worse than harming a little bit of grass,” another protester commented, referring to the total death toll cited by Gaza health authorities amid Israel’s relentless retaliatory assault on the Palestinian enclave.
Israel’s siege comes in response to the October 7 Hamas attack on the Jewish state, in which at least 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage.
